Wireless networks often use access keys to ensure that only valid subscribers are permitted to access the wireless network. In conventional 3G/4G wireless networks, user equipment (UE) specific key materials are distributed to packet data network (PDN) gateways (PGW) in the evolved packet core (EPC) and user equipments (UEs) by a mobility management entity (MME) after UE authentication/authorization, and are used to encrypt data communications over the bearer channel extending between the UE and the PGW. Notably, the UE-specific key materials, or UE-specific keys (for short), are transferred between wireless network during handovers. This transferring of UE-specific keys may be problematic in densely deployed environments, where handovers are more frequent, as repeatedly transferring key materials between wireless networks significantly increases the latency and overhead associated with UE mobility. Accordingly, techniques for quickly, and efficiently authenticating UEs in densely deployed environments are desired.